A Lathrop man was arrested on Tuesday on charges of possession of child pornography after an internet tip led to an extensive investigation that ended with him in handcuffs.
Cristobal Medina, 31, landed on the radar of the San Joaquin County Sheriffs Office’s Hi-Tech Crimes/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified law enforcement that somebody in the area had uploaded child pornography to the internet.
After an extensive investigation, Detective Colton Mitchell secured a search warrant for a home in 100 block of Shadywood Avenue where they gathered evidence while simultaneously taking him into custody at his job in Livermore.
According to records posted online from the sheriff’s office, Medina is not currently in custody in the San Joaquin County Jail.
In the eyes of Lathrop Police Chief Ryan Biedermann, the work of Mitchell – who alternates between the sheriff’s office in French Camp and a location in Sacramento where he specializes with other law enforcement officials on internet crimes against children – has been invaluable to the community and the arrest on Tuesday wouldn’t have happened without his hard work.
“All of the credit goes to those guys on the task force – our guy has so much specialized training and that provides such a great network to have our disposal when we have to pull the trigger on internet crimes and sex crimes involving children,” Biedermann said. “These kinds of arrests are the justification for that task force and sadly, it’s been very busy for them lately.”
The specialized task force, Biedermann said, has the ability to track internet downloads of illegal images as they happen and actually have the ability to track the volume of images that are being uploaded – giving vital information about potential high-risk criminals so that the investigations can move forward and arrests can be made before advancing beyond the online realm.
And Biedermann, who previously worked in the child abuse and sexual assault division of the sheriff’s office, has been proactive in going after those who prey on children since taking over the growing agency that operates as an extension of the sheriff’s office – conducting numbers sting operations with deputies posing as underage decoys. Dozens of people have been arrested as a result of the operations.
“That was one of the most rewarding assignments that I’ve ever had – it really is making a difference,” he said. “That’s one area that I really want to be proactive in.”
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.
